Clients

Clients and their teachers of the BCR "a place to grow" presented their annual holiday program on Nov. 17 at St. Francis Xavier Church Holy Cross Hall. The center's mission is to provide quality program services for children and adults with developmental disabilities that will enable them to achieve their individual potentials and become increasingly self-reliant, well-integrated and contributing members of their families and communities. The holiday program gives them a chance to showcase their singing, reading and dancing abilities.

Jackson Bell Once in training to become a professional chef and now a personal trainer who teaches fitness professionally, Kirk Watt's approach to his work might, at times, seem to clash. He offers a food menu to clients while they are busy sweating off calories. "I'm not a dietician," said the co-owner and director of fitness operations at nVISIONuFIT. "But when it comes to recommending the necessary food that people need, I can help." Opening the fitness center last year, with the intent of using the facility as a chance to focus on one-on-one workout sessions, Connie Watkins -- the other owner, chief executive and Watt's girlfriend -- said their emphasis is more on personal training than general membership.

If you were going to see a doctor and you needed significant help ? for example, if he were to make an important diagnosis with respect to your health, or if he were to perform surgery on you ? wouldn?t you want to know if he had malpractice insurance? I sure would. Yet apparently my brethren attorneys are split on this issue as it applies to lawyers. This has been kicked around since 2005, when the State Bar of California began to debate the issue of whether attorneys who do not have malpractice insurance should be required to tell their clients.

Concerns about the future and economy have pushed some people to seek the advice of psychics and fortunetellers. While the No. 1 question people ask is still about love, psychics who work at the Psychic Eye Book Shop in Burbank have noticed that more people have begun asking whether they will lose their jobs or keep their houses, shop co-owner Mary Kara said. ?The economy has affected so many people,? she said. ?The world has changed. They want some direction and feel psychics could help guide them.

Gary Moskowitz BURBANK -- Local workers are available to lend a helping hand with tasks that may be a bit too much for Burbank residents. The In-Home Worker Program provides assistance to homeowners with tasks such as laundry, housework, meal preparation and personal care. The program is sponsored by Burbank's Joslyn Adult Center, at 1301 E. Olive Ave. Hourly workers may not charge clients more than $8 an hour, and live-in workers may not charge clients more than $75 per day. Clients are responsible for selecting a worker, negotiating a salary, defining duties and checking references.

PR firm decides to relocate to Burbank Public relations firm the Honig Company has relocated to 3500 W. Olive Ave. from its former office in Century City. The company, founded in February 2004, is a promotion and communication agency with clients in a wide array of industries, from entertainment to luxury goods to technology. The company's move to Burbank was decided, in part, because the city has become a hub for the leaders in the media industry, President Steve Honig said.

GLENDALE — The serving of a lawsuit against state Sen. Carol Liu’s district director at her workplace last week was nothing more than a “bigoted publicity stunt,” the Council of American-Islamic Relations said Monday. Tahra Goraya, a former national director for the council, was served with the suit in her Glendale office. The federal lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., claims the Council of American-Islamic Relations allowed a manager to claim he was an attorney and provide bogus legal advice to the organization’s clients, costing at least one of them their job. Morris Days allegedly took money from those clients but did not file any claims on their behalf.

The clients of BCR ? ?a place to grow? celebrated the most wonderful time of the year with their annual Holiday Program in Holy Cross Hall at St. Francis Xavier Church. Act One was titled ?Just One Wish? and clients in the Adult Day Activity Program took turns singing songs and dancing to such selections as ?Parade of the Wooden Soldiers? ?A King is Born? and ?O Holy Night.? The highlight was Ernie Pistacchio singing his solo ?O Holy Night.? The entire cast led by Jason Sanchez came together for the finale song ?

Burbank Police Sgt. Mike Parrinello envisions himself as the one to help keep homeless people on the path to recovery and off the streets. “We're the go-betweens, since we have contact with them,” Parrinello said. “We're coordinating between officers, resources and whatever organizations will help.” The program models are still being tested and put together, but Parrinello is part of a budding effort at the Burbank Police Department to take a more proactive approach in reducing the number of transients on city streets.

Clients and their teachers of the BCR "a place to grow" presented their annual holiday program on Nov. 17 at St. Francis Xavier Church Holy Cross Hall. The center's mission is to provide quality program services for children and adults with developmental disabilities that will enable them to achieve their individual potentials and become increasingly self-reliant, well-integrated and contributing members of their families and communities. The holiday program gives them a chance to showcase their singing, reading and dancing abilities.

To enter Judy Rudin's home in Burbank is to enter a world of dogs. Rudin, owner of SuperShmuttle at 854 Ford St. in Burbank, has for the last two decades dedicated her life to taking care of dogs of all shapes, sizes, ages and breeds. SuperShmuttle might be compared to a baby-sitting service for dogs, Rudin says. Clients leave their dogs with Rudin at the beginning of the day, and she takes them to Laurel Canyon Dog Park, where they spend the entire afternoon frolicking with other dogs.

The seeds were planted for a growing partnership between two schools Wednesday. Students in the Woodbury University School of Architecture, under the direction of professor Jeanine Centuori, have been creating ideas for upgrading Tierra del Sol, an educational facility for adults with disabilities in Sunland. Models of the main building were unveiled, as well as proposed structures for throughout the campus, including pavilions for sports, a garden, art gallery and a folly ramp that curls around a tree.

The clients of BCR ? ?a place to grow? celebrated the most wonderful time of the year with their annual Holiday Program in Holy Cross Hall at St. Francis Xavier Church. Act One was titled ?Just One Wish? and clients in the Adult Day Activity Program took turns singing songs and dancing to such selections as ?Parade of the Wooden Soldiers? ?A King is Born? and ?O Holy Night.? The highlight was Ernie Pistacchio singing his solo ?O Holy Night.? The entire cast led by Jason Sanchez came together for the finale song ?

Glendale resident Terry Engle isn’t used to living on the streets, not having money or a place to sleep at night. He was manager of an apartment building on Louise Street for 15 years until September, when the building’s management company decided they no longer needed his service. They told him he had to leave, but Engle didn’t have a place to go. With no other options, Engle opted to stay put. But sheriff’s deputies yanked him out of the apartment three weeks ago, and he’s been living on the street since, sleeping on the cold ground behind a city library.

People say Tom Burke has a gift of working with people who are developmentally disabled, but he believes he gets more in return from the experience than his clients do. The Burbank resident has been sharing that gift for more than 23 years at BCR. — a place to grow.The Burbank center provides day programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral-palsy and others. Clients come to the center from Burbank, Glendale and neighboring communities.

Pat Chase was a participant in the senior writing program at VMHCare in Glendale when she heard about the mental health facility’s adult peer counseling program. Driven by her desire to help others in need, she decided to apply as a volunteer. Four years have passed and Chase said she still thinks about that fateful day and how the decision she made improved not only her life, but the lives of the clients she has interacted with over the years. Chase recalled a client who was losing her confidence to drive.

GLENDALE — The serving of a lawsuit against state Sen. Carol Liu’s district director at her workplace last week was nothing more than a “bigoted publicity stunt,” the Council of American-Islamic Relations said Monday. Tahra Goraya, a former national director for the council, was served with the suit in her Glendale office. The federal lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., claims the Council of American-Islamic Relations allowed a manager to claim he was an attorney and provide bogus legal advice to the organization’s clients, costing at least one of them their job. Morris Days allegedly took money from those clients but did not file any claims on their behalf.